Justin B. Terry-Smith

Justin's HIV Journal

I got a notification on my phone from my Grindr application so I click on it to check the message. This guy immediately started with, "Really Justin?" I then didn't understand what he was referring to, so I replied, "Really what?" He then went on to say that he was disappointed in me for having my HIV status at the bottom of my Grindr profile and that I was once his hero and etc. I just couldn't believe this. All I could do was block the immaturity out and off my phone.

Joan Rivers died on September 4, 2014, at the age of 81. Many of you do not know that Joan Rivers wasn't just a comedian, but she was an HIV/AIDS activist. She would distribute food to HIV/AIDS patients in the NYC area for a non-profit called God's Love We Deliver. When Rivers won The Celebrity Apprentice in 2009, her prize money bought 56,000 meals, since then it's grown to other cities such as Detroit, Chicago and San Francisco.

On August 16, 2014, NovaSalud Inc. put on a beautiful fashion show at the O street Mansion in northwest D.C. Clothing designed by Juan Jose Saenz-Ferreyros Peruvian Fashion Designer and Owner of Ferreyros Couture Company Photography by Chris Zarconi Photography and Jose Dimas C M. All models have been affected in some shape or form by HIV/AIDS. The fashion show was meant to fight against the stigma of HIV. I participated in the fashion show and mini-doc and I really appreciate all that NovaSalud does and continues to do in the community. Fellow HIV/AIDS activist Rod McCoy and Patrick Ingram were models as well. I hope to work with NovaSalud again.

This was very artistic and keep in mind the video has some nudity in it.

This is a film by the bossacima project which took place in the Bossa Lounge in the Adams Morgan section of Washington DC. The project was made to showcase and celebrate all walks of life in the LGBTQ community. It was my first and I believe it was 2005 in which this was made. It was an amazing project to work with Daniel Cima, Rachid Abdallah and videographer Susana Travieso.

According to the CDC (2014) Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is a way for people who do not have HIV to help prevent HIV infection by taking a pill every day. The pill contains two medicines that are also used, in combination with other medicines, to treat HIV. When someone is exposed to HIV through sex or injection drug use, PrEP can help stop the virus from establishing a permanent infection.

The World Health Organization (WHO) (2014) estimates, that 35 million people around the world are infected with HIV and 1.1 of them live in the United States (WHO, 2014). There was a decline in Men, Women, White, Black, Hispanic/Latino, heterosexual, Intravenous Drug Users (IDUs) and most age groups, except young gay and bisexual men.

There are many things that I want to teach my son as he goes into adult hood. He is 17 years old and sorry to say for him that he has to grow up fast. He has to understand that when you're an adult that are thing that are expected of you. There is one thing that I wanted him to especially understand, which the consideration for what things people might hold dear. Growing up I don't think that he had that. December 27th was my birthday and as most of you know that is two days after Christmas. My family has always been respectful of that and I love them for it. I'm going to guess that after having a talk with my son about planning around that time he understood what I meant. He actually did something that was so creative and loving it surprised me, and as most of you know, I'm almost never surprised. Check out the video.

When a boy becomes one with his chores it's amazing the change you will see. My son was given a chore list to begin his chores every weekend. There were about 10 chores he could do on Saturday thru Sunday. When I was growing up I did just that. He complained so much I decided to make sure that he would do his chores and broke them up into one chore a day. Now he has no excuse on doing his chores. Laziness does not a Terry-Smith make. Of course I was a lot softer in explaining it to him, but I'm known for my tough love. ;-)

There is one thing that we as humans have to face, and that is getting older. There isn't any Botox, moisturizer, or home remedy that will make you stop aging. I belong to the HAG: HIV Aging Group on Facebook, whose goal is to discuss all issues related to the senior HIV patient experience. The group was a mystery to me until someone suggested I join it. Now, I'm 34, but I'm considered young to some and old to others. As I was mulling over this month's column, I thought about how I could get a good perspective on experiences from older people living with HIV. I posed to the group this question:

Justin B. Terry-Smith, M.P.H., may be one of the most public African Americans living with HIV: He has his own website, and he's even on YouTube. He is a noted HIV and gay civil rights activist and the creator of "Justin's HIV Journal," a popular blog in which he shares his trials and tribulations of living with HIV. A U.S. Air Force veteran, Justin resides in Laurel, Maryland, with his husband, Dr. Philip Terry-Smith, and their son, Lundyn. Presently, Justin is working toward earning his doctorate in public health. He welcomes your questions.
(Photo credit: Don Harris)

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